How do you help a beloved regional coffee player take the national stage and steal share from the reigning juggernaut?

By 2007, Dunkin' Donuts had become a successful Northeast coffee franchise ready to expand westward. At the time, coffee wasn’t just a drink, it was becoming a culture and that culture was defined by Starbucks – the dominant alpha brand with stores on just about every corner in America. Starbucks coffee culture was all about baristas, comfy chairs, and ordering expensive drinks using exotic language.

Fruit Smoothies :30

But Dunkin’ had something that would prove to be Starbucks’ greatest foil: our Dunkin’ tribe. Unlike Starbucks users, Dunkin’ folks are doers and pragmatists who believe in getting on with the job and wouldn’t dream of sitting in a coffee shop for hours on end. Our tribe are the hardworking, down-to-earth folks who get up every day and quietly go about the job of keeping America running.

We bet there were plenty more of them out there – people who would appreciate that at Dunkin', you get in, get a drink or bite at a great value, and get back to what you do. We boiled it down to declarative rallying cry that became our brand promise: “Dunkin’ is how the everyday people who keep America running keep themselves running, every day,” or in other words, “America runs on Dunkin’.”